I think I have a fish problem

D

DrownedPlant

AC Members
Aug 2, 2013
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Hello,

I have a freshwater 55 gallon tank with currently 4 fish in it. I had a few more smaller fish but I moved them to another tank.

1 Bala Shark 6"
1 Raphael Catfish 3.5"
1 Angel Fish 5"
1 Dinosaur Bichir 3"

1 Iridescent Shark (In another tank until big enough to move in)

The problem is that I'm not sure if these fish belong in the same tank.

Bala Shark:
Chases the other fish once in a while.
Spits rocks against the tank wall? (Not sure why)
Jumps out of the water and rams the tank lid.
Also, is the only fish that does not run from the fish net.

Raphael Catfish:
Dissapeared for almost a year... not sure where he went but reappeared about 5 months ago.
Stops moving and looks like he is dead but will start moving again.

Angel Fish:
Had two but gave one away because they were fighting.
Appears to swim away from the Dinosaur Birchir.

Dinosaur Birchir:
Does not appear to have any issues.
I feed him frozen bloodworms but have to melt the ice block first or the Bala and angel will eat it before the Dino can get to it.

Iridescent Shark:
Not currently in the tank.
I bought him instead of a Red Fin Shark because he needed rescued from walmart.
I've heard that he can get VERY big... I bought him thinking that he would only get about one or two feet max.

Plants:
I have not had any successful plants in the tank. Even before the fish, I setup the tank, waited about a week before adding plants, but they always seem to die.

Decorations:
I have a few mid sized decorations that the Dino and the Raphael use but it's not very often.

Filter:
Came with the tank.
Two exits for water.
Two Biowheels. (What do these do?)
Can hold four cartridges but I only use two.

Lights:
LED White and LED Blue (Day/Night)

No signs of Ink or Fungus that I'm aware of.
Are there any recommendations for what I should or should not be doing with the fish in this tank or any other part of the tank?
 
The Bala Shark will get too large for that tank and they are, from what I know, fairly aggressive fish. They grow to be 1ft or larger and will eat pretty much anything they can catch.

I don't know enough about Raphael Catfish to say why it's acting like that but I can tell you it won't outgrow the tank haha. They are very mild fish though, probably not a good mix with the Bala Shark.

Dunno about the Angelfish or the Birchir. I don't know anything about the Iridescent Shark except that it is, according to wikipedia, an endangered species of catfish.

I'd suggest pictures of these fish, we may be able to ID problems better that way.
 
Balas are skittish, need to be in groups to calm them down a bit, and get to be about a foot, are a bad fit for a 55.

Iridescent sharks can get up to about 2 feet, bad fit for a 55.

Keep in mind that your 55, if a standard 55, is only about 13 inches deep. There's a risk for stunting in fish that are over 8 or so inches in length.

Raphael will eat anything it can fit into its mouth. Being mostly mouth, it seems, that's a sizeable fish. And since mine was primarily nocturnal, I'm sure it sneaks up on sleeping fish that would be food if they were small enough.

Without more detail on the plants, including what kind/lighting/how old the bulbs are, really can't address it.

Bio-Wheels are a place for beneficial bacteria (the key to the nitrogen cycle) to grow.
 
I will upload pictures as sonn as I am able to. It's a standard 55 gallon tank. As for lighting, The tank receives partial sunlight. I turn on the daytime lights for about 8 hours and the nighttime lights (blue) for about 3 hours. There is one light "kit" on each side. The lights are multiple (I think about 24 each) mini led light bulbs and three blue led bulbs each.

I tried multiple plants but none seem to survive. I don't remember all of them but I know several were amazon swords. Nothing was growing on the plants and they did not appear to be eaten. They would just slowly decay over time.

Hope this helps
 
You will probably have more luck keeping anubias alive. It doesn't require much light, so the partial sunlight will be plenty. Also, what is your water source?

Since those biowheels house your good bacteria, they shouldn't be changed on a regular basis like the cartridges. Brown wheels are happy wheels.

And as the other guys pointed out, the fish aren't a good long term fit
 
What kind of LED lighting? Is it part of a kit that came with the tank? If so, those are not likely to be conducive to plant growth. Plant growth capable LEDs are notably more expensive than those that aren't. It sounds like you got one of those Marineland 55 gallon starter kits.

It's things like this that are why I like to buy tanks a la carte via the $1/gallon sale you periodically find at Petco. For similar money to a kit (usually a little more), you get *much* better hardware that you're probably going to upgrade to, anyway, without having to buy replacements out of pocket, increasing your costs. For example, you could have gotten a T5HO lighting (T5 is the type of bulb, and T5 comes in normal and high output) on sale for about $65. That's how much mine cost for my 55. Of course, that does require a greater investment in time/research, while a kit is so much more convenient.
 
I have town water unfortunately... I treat the water and let it set in gallon jugs for a few days before putting the lids on and storing them.
When I first setup the tank though, I bought enought distilled water to fill the tank.

I honestly have only washed the biowheels once since I got the tank. They never really seem to get too brown or dirty.

It sounds like I will have to rethink which fish are in my tank and probably give most of them to a pet store that will accept them. If possible I would like to keep the Dinosaur Birchir. http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3924463&f=PAD%2FpsNotAvailInUS%2FNo Can he stay in the tank or would he need a bigger tank as well?
 
authmal said:
What kind of LED lighting? Is it part of a kit that came with the tank? If so, those are not likely to be conducive to plant growth. Plant growth capable LEDs are notably more expensive than those that aren't. It sounds like you got one of those Marineland 55 gallon starter kits.

It's things like this that are why I like to buy tanks a la carte via the $1/gallon sale you periodically find at Petco. For similar money to a kit (usually a little more), you get *much* better hardware that you're probably going to upgrade to, anyway, without having to buy replacements out of pocket, increasing your costs. For example, you could have gotten a T5HO lighting (T5 is the type of bulb, and T5 comes in normal and high output) on sale for about $65. That's how much mine cost for my 55. Of course, that does require a greater investment in time/research, while a kit is so much more convenient.
Click to expand...

It was all together and I think it was a Marineland 55 gallon starter kit. If I need to buy different lights for the plants it's not to much of a problem. My gfs spoiled beta fish had a 10 gallon tank to himself with an led lid and a Marina s10 filter until he passed after almost three years.
 
The distilled water also may have been a problem for the plants. It doesn't have the dissolved stuff that plants need. Swords are also heavy root feeders and appreciate ferts in the sand
 
Glabe said:
The distilled water also may have been a problem for the plants. It doesn't have the dissolved stuff that plants need. Swords are also heavy root feeders and appreciate ferts in the sand
Click to expand...

I didn't realize that the plants would require so much attention. Are there any other plants that you could recommend or any other recommendations for helping them grow?
 
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